Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.

Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.

Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!

AWARDS AND HONORS

I&B Minister gives away 5th National Photography Awards

• Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore and Secretary I&B, Shri Sunil Arora were also present on the occasion.
• The Minister lauded the professional work of Shri Bhawan Singh who was given the Life Time Achievement Award for this year, recalling his excellence in capturing the visua journey of India from late 70s.
• Shri Arun Jaitley and Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore also felicitated the winners of the 5th National Photography Awards.
• The Life Time Achievement award was presented to Shri Bhawan Singh for his illustrious career and contributions to the field of Photography.
• Shri Bhawan Singh has worked in the Indian news industry for over five decades and is one of the senior photo journalist in the country.
• His career which started in a newspaper has been built mostly around magazines. He worked as Magazine Photo Editor with India Today magazine. He is a recipient of the World Press Photo Award.
• The total number of awards in the various categories were thirteen.
• The various categories included Professional Photographer of the Year, Special Mention Award (Professional), Amateur Photographer of the Year, Special Mention Award (Amateur).

Quick Link – National Photography Awards

M Sukumaran chosen for CV Kunhiraman Literary Prize

Renowned Malayalam writer M Sukumaran in the third week of March 2016 was chosen for the CV Kunhiraman Literary Prize. The prize consists of 10001 rupees in cash, a citation, and a statuette designed by artist BD Dathan.

About M Sukumaran

• M Sukumaran is an author and short story writer in Malayalam.
• He was born at Chittur in Palakkad District, Kerala.
• He won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award in 1976 for his bookMarichittillathavarude Smarakangal.
• The themes of all of his writings deal with the plight of the dispossessed and advocate an armed struggle for the liberation of the oppressed.

C.V. Kunhuraman

• C.V. Kunhuraman (1871 – 1949) was a man of letters, social reformer, founder of Kerala Kaumudi, journalist and leader. He was a follower of Sree Narayana Guru.
• Kunhiraman was also the editor of Malayalarajyam, Navajeevan, Kathamalika, Yukthivadi, Navasakthi and Vivekodayam.
• He had the rare distinction in Malayalam journalism being the founder of Kerala Kaumudi and founder editor of Malayalarajyam.

Quick Link – CV Kunhiraman Literary Prize

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Punjab Govt approves life term for ‘sacrilege’ of Guru Granth Sahib

Punjab assembly has passed a bill which states that whoever causes injury, damage or sacrilege to Guru Granth Sahib with an intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people will be punished with imprisonment for life.

• The Bill – Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment – was moved by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
• The Bill seeks life imprisonment for sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, by adding section 295 AA in IPC and enhancement of punishment under section 295 of IPC, injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class from two to 10 years.
• The move comes amidst a number of cases of sacrilege involving the Guru Granth Sahib in the past couple of months which triggered violent protests. Police firing during the clash in Faridkot had claimed two lives last month.
• However, the amendment in the bill brought by Leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi and Congress MLAs Ashwini Sekhri and Tarlochan Singh was lost by voice vote.

Quick Link – Sacrilege

Government clears new Defence Procurement Policy

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar gave final approval to the new Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) 2016, which will come into effect from April 1, 2016. The DPP, which will have provisions to fast-track acquisition of critically-needed equipments, will be unveiled at the Defence Expo on March 28.

• The policy will give first priority to Indian Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) acquisition and relax norms with respect to blacklisting. There will be strategic partnerships in case of helicopters, fighters and submarine projects.
• The government will updated the Ordnance Factory Board and Defence Procurement Manuals in two months.
• Parrikar said the new blacklisting policy will also be issued separately next month and made it clear that there will be no relaxation for those who have already been blacklisted and bribe givers will be punished.
• The existing blacklisted firms will be allowed to appeal before a vigilance committee of the Defence Ministry for delisting under the new policy.
• The new DPP will also have provision for allowing the DAC to fast track the procedure by bypassing the Acceptance of Necessity (AON) process, in urgent cases like requirements of the Special Forces.

Quick Link – Defence Procurement Policy

Govt launches mobile app ‘Pusa Krishi’

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh  launched a new mobile app ‘Pusa Krishi’ for farmers in order to take the technology to farm fields.

• The mobile app was launched at the valedictory session of the three-day ‘Krishi Unnati Mela’.
• With use of this mobile app, farmers can get easy solutions to their problems.
• Farmers can get information about weather and accordingly they can take measures to save crops.
• The app will provide farmers with information related to new varieties of crops developed by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), resource conserving cultivation practices as well as farm machinery and its implementation will help in increasing returns to farmers.

Singh said the government is working towards increasing the usage of technology at the hands of the farmers under various schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana and Soil Health Card Scheme.

• The Minister also felicitated 45 progressive farmers with ‘Krishi Karman’ awards.
• During the inaugural function of the mela, Prime Minister Narenda Modi had launched a mobile app ‘Kisan Suvidha’ which aims at providing information to farmers on weather, market prices, farm machinery as well as identification and management of crop pest and diseases.

Quick Link – Pusa Krishi

Ola, Maharashtra government sign MoU to skill one lakh youth

Ola, India’s largest taxi aggregator recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with theMaharashtra government, to skill, develop and create opportunities for entrepreneurship for 1,00,000 youth in the state.

• The MoU, which will also take into consideration the employment of women, will work towards skilling people to be independent driver-entrepreneurs over the next five years.
• The company will work closely with the Maharashtra government to expand its network of driver owned cabs across multiple categories like Micro, Mini, Prime etc.
• The government will also work with Ola towards making concerted efforts in providing the right training infrastructure and technology framework to make a meaningful difference in the current employment scenario.
• OlaCabs, commonly known as Ola, is an Indian online transportation network company.
• Ola started as an online cab aggregator in Mumbai, now based out in Bangalore.
• It was founded on 3 December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal (currently CEO) and Ankit Bhati.
• By 2014, the company has expanded to a network of more than 200,000 cars across 85 cities.
• Ola was valued at $5 billion as of September 2015.

Quick Link – Maharashtra govt MoU to skill one lakh youth

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Ali Mohamed Shein is a new President of Zanzibar

The electoral authority of Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, the ZEC, announced incumbent President Ali Mohamed Shein had won his re-election bid, after polls boycotted by the main opposition party.

• Shein from the ruling CCM party easily won after the main opposition party, the Civic United Front or CUF, boycotted the election, protesting the ZEC’s decision to nullify the results of last October’s general election in which the opposition apparently won both the presidency and the house of representatives.
• International observers, including the European Union and other international bodies, made clear their stand by condemning not only the election re-run, but also the nullification of the October election results.
• International observers also did not also go to Zanzibar to observe polls, except for African Union representatives.
• Since the multiparty system was re-introduced in the country in 1992, with the first multiparty general election in 1995, there has been no easy election for Zanzibar’s ruling CCM.
• In some four consecutive presidential elections, Hamad claimed to be the winner, but was unrecognized as such by electoral authorities.

Quick Link – A M Shein is a new President

General Lori Robinson will become the US military’s first female combat commander

A woman has been chosen to lead a key combat unit for the first time in American history. Lori Robinson, 56, a four-star Air Force general, has been nominated to take charge of the first line of defence of any invasion of the US mainland – the United States Northern Command.

• The move makes her one of the top generals in the largest military force in the world, and the most senior woman in US military history, subject to formal approval by the US Senate.
• Robinson enrolled in the US Air Force in 1982 and has racked up more than 900 hours of flight experience during a career that has seen her work as a flight instructor, an air battle manager and a tactical officer.
• Her current command, which she assumed in 2014, saw her take command of the Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii, making her the first female four-star commander of combat forces.
• American defence secretary Ash Carter made the announcement on Friday.
• United States Northern Command, known as USNORTHCOM, oversees the defence of the entirety of the North American continent’s airspace.
• It was founded in 2002 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and would coordinate the US’s primary defence in the event of a mainland invasion.
• Its mandate encompasses the US, Canada, Alaska, Mexico and the closer portions of the Carribean.

Robinson’s appointment comes just a few months after secretary Carter opened up all combat rolesin the US military to women in December. Women are now able to hold roughly 220,000 more jobs in the military than previously.

Quick Link – US military’s first female combat commander

World Water Day is observed on March 22

World Water Day is observed on March 22 every year. It is an international observance and an opportunity to learn more about water related issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference.

• The theme in 2016 — water and jobs — is focusing on how enough quantity and quality of water can change workers’ lives and livelihoods – and even transform societies and economies.
• World Water Day dates back to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development where an international observance for water was recommended.
• The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. It has been held annually since then.
• UN-Water coordinates the UN’s work on water and sanitation for a better world.
• Through UN-Water, UN entities and international partners work together to place water and sanitation as top issues and 21 Century essential knowledge.
• World Water Day is one of UN-Water’s campaigns that aims to inform, engage and inspire action.

Quick Link – World Water Day

Twitter is 10 years old now

Twitter is 10 years old now. Dorsey, then an undergrad at New York University, later the company’s first CEO, is now CEO again.

• Twitter is no longer a small, quirky, unprofitable startup, but a big, famous, unprofitable corporation. And, having come in for a beating recently, it is thrilled to have a self-evidently positive PR event like a double-digit birthday. It’s releasing GIFs and blog posts and data visualizations to celebrate.
• Twitter describes March 21 as its birthday, but the event commemorated more closely resembles its conception.
• Twitter didn’t even open to the public until July 15, 2006. Later that year, it made a website where it displayed all the tweets.
• It wasn’t until February 2007 that Twitter itself superseded the podcasting company that founded it, Odeo.
• Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called “tweets”.
• Registered users can read and post tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them.
• Users access Twitter through the website interface, SMS or mobile device app.
• Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass and launched in July 2006.

Quick Link – Twitter 10

FOREIGN RELATIONS

India to host 8th BRICS Summit in Goa

India will host the eighth annual Summit of BRICS from October 15-16 in Goa in its capacity as chair of the influential bloc comprising five countries with 42 per cent of the world population and combined GDP of over $16 trillion.

• India assumed chairmanship of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India- China-South Africa) from Russia on February 15 and it will last till December 31.
• The logo for the Summit is a lotus having colours from all the five member countries and a traditional ‘namaste’ in the centre.
• “We will adopt a five-pronged approach during our Chairmanship. It will comprise Institution Building, Implementation, Integration, Innovation, and Continuity with Consolidation (IIIIC or I4C)”
• The grouping has been pushing for greater economic growth among the member countries and reform of global financial institutions.
• It has set up a the New Development Bank headquartered in Shanghai, with India’s K V Kamath at present serving as its chief.
• We have planned a series of events including – the BRICS Under-17 Football Tournament, BRICS Film Festival, BRICS Wellness Forum, BRICS Youth Forum, Young Diplomat’s Forum, BRICS Trade Fair, BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave besides the think-tank and academic forums.

Quick Link – 8th BRICS Summit in Goa

India deployed P-8I to Seychelles for EEZ Surveillance

The Indian Navy has deployed a P 8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles since 20 Mar 16, for surveillance in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Seychelles, in accordance with the MoU between the Governments of India and Seychelles.

• The Indian Navy has, in the past, undertaken surveillance missions in the Seychell is EEZ twice a year, by deploying IN ships.
• The last such deployment was undertaken by ships of the 1st Training Squadron of the Indian Navy, in Oct 15.
• This is the first time that the P8I aircraft has been deployed to Seychelles.
• The aircraft will remain deployed till 23 Mar 16. During this period, the aircraft will undertake surveillance of the Seychellois EEZ.
• In addition, the deployment will facilitate professional interaction between the aircrew and the Seychelles Peoples Defence Force (SPDF).
• Deployment of Indian Navys latest and technologically most advanced maritime reconnaissance aircraft is an indicator of Indias commitment towards ensuring the security of Seychell is EEZ.
• This deployment would assist in curbing illegal activities and piracy as well as contribute towards security and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.

Quick Link – P-8I to Seychelles for EEZ

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Researchers have developed a new Gravity Map of Mars

Researchers have developed a new map of Mars’ gravity with three NASA spacecraft that is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.

“Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient,” said Antonio Genova from Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT).

• The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet’s gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars.
• It will help to understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet.
• The improved resolution of the new gravity map suggests a new explanation for how some features formed across the boundary that divides the relatively smooth northern lowlands from heavily cratered southern highlands.
• Also, the team confirmed that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock by analysing tides in the Martian crust and mantle caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the two moons of Mars.
• The map was derived using data collected by NASA’s Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
• The gravity field was recovered using about 16 years of data that were continuously collected in orbit around Mars.

Quick Link – Gravity Map of Mars

ENVIRONMENT

GOI notified new Plastic Waste Management Rules

• Environment minister Prakash Javadekar said this will be brought about by a new principle of Extended Producers Responsibility Act.
• Those industries using plastic will have to pay proportionately towards collection through the same distribution system they use for retailing their products.
• Such industries will be liable to lose their certification for operations if they do not abide by the norms.
• However he could not specify the extent of fines that would be imposed on the manufacturers or how exactly the monitoring system will operate.
• The government also aims to standardise the 50 micron size plastic bags as opposed to the 40 micron ones, which was the minimum permissible limit earlier.
• Plastic needs about 450 years just to start decomposing. Then, it takes another 50-80 years to decompose completely.
• The word ‘plastic’ comes from the Greek plastikos, meaning ‘capable of being shaped and moulded.
• 90% of the price you pay for the bottled water goes to the plastic bottle, while the water cost you only 10% of the money you give.

Quick Link – Plastic Waste Management Rules

OBITUARY

Legendary former Intel CEO Andy Grove is dead at 79

Andy Grove, who fled from Nazi and Soviet oppression to become one of the most powerful business leaders in the global tech industry as the chairman and CEO of Intel, died on Monday. He was 79.

• Grove was the first hire at Intel, which was founded in 1968 by former employees of Fairchild Semiconductor.
• Grove joined on day one as the company’s director of engineering, became Intel’s president in 1979, and its CEO in 1987.
• He stepped aside as CEO when he developed prostate cancer, but he continued to serve as chairman of the board until 2004.
• During his leadership, Intel successfully transformed itself from a maker of memory chips to the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductors, growing revenue from $1.9 billion to $26 billion.
• Grove was idolized by some of tech’s best-known leaders, including former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who called him in 1997 to ask whether he should return to Apple.
• During Grove’s tenure as CEO, Intel produced chips including the 386 and Pentium, which became name brands unto themselves and laid the groundwork for much of the personal computing era.
• Grove was born András Gróf in Budapest, Hungary, in 1936. When he was 8, the Nazis invaded Hungary and sent 500,000 Jews to concentration camps.

Quick Link – Andy Grove Passed away

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